Home-Based Care Giant Bayada Continues To Expand Autism Business Line

One the largest U.S. providers of home-based care is continuing to expand in the behavioral health space.

Bayada Home Health Care recently opened up a new center focused on treating children who have been diagnosed with autism. The Wall, New Jersey-based center is the company’s seventh location under its Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) service line.

“That team has been up and running for a little while now,” Dallas M. Star, regional director at Bayada, told Home Health Care News. “We just [had] the grand opening of the location, but they are staffed and ready to be taking on clients, and actually already have a few clients. They’re utilizing board certified behavior analysts and registered behavior technicians to provide ABA therapy, in the center, in the home, in the community and in surrounding areas.”

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Bayada provides home health, home care, hospice and behavioral health care services in 23 states, as well as in several countries.

The new location is a center-based facility, but it will also provide home, community or school based services, according to Star.

“We have some clients who only come into the center because that is the service setting that’s best for them,” she said. “We have some clients that come into the center in the morning and then we provide in-home therapy in the evenings, and some are exclusively home-based therapy. ABA at Bayada is highly individualized to the client and what their needs are. Sometimes, with autism, the symptoms that we’re seeing may only be occurring in the home, and that’s the most appropriate setting for us to provide service.”

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Star also noted that the work being done in the center helps clients when they transition home. And, Bayada offers family treatment guidance, which equips families or caregivers to respond to the needs of their loved ones who have autism.

Looking ahead, Bayada is planning to continue growing its ABA services lines.

“I think when we look at the really core Bayada markets, we want to make sure we have a behavioral health or ABA location in each of those markets,” Star said. “We’re going to do that in a smart way. We’re going to make sure that we are scaling at an appropriate rate, and providing really great care to each of our locations before we open the next one.”

In terms of the pace of growth, Bayada has been providing ABA for over 10 years, with a new location opening every few years, Star said.

The market opportunity related to autism treatment is significant, given increasing rates at which individuals – including children – are being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The prevalence of autism among children up to four years old increased 352% between 2011 and 2022, according to a recent JAMA study. The prevalence of ASD in the United States increased from one case per 150 children in 2000 to one case per 36 children by 2020, according to CDC data.

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